


Honey, I'm Home!

by letsgolesbians



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, Romance, the tiniest bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 06:51:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18068639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsgolesbians/pseuds/letsgolesbians
Summary: Sakura lives in an apartment by herself. One day she's greeted by an unexpected visitor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of the prompt: Everyday, you return to your apartment and say “Honey, I’m home. Oh wait, that’s right, I live alone.” But one day, a voice replies, “I picked up some pizza.”

Coming home to an empty apartment wasn’t an unusual experience for Sakura. In fact, she had grown to calling out, “Honey, I’m home!” the moment she entered through the doorway. An inside joke with herself to combat the loneliness Sakura always denied got to her.

Sakura had friends, yes. Quite a few of them actually. But she had felt for a long time that something was missing. An emptiness that just couldn’t be filled by Naruto’s enthusiastic ramblings about ramen or Sasuke’s one-word replies. The stale pick-up lines thrown in Sakura’s direction at bars didn’t do much for her either.

She was looking for something more.

* * *

After a grueling shift at Konoha General Hospital, all Sakura wanted to do was get home, take a hot bath, and sleep for as long as she could allow herself.

Once she had dragged herself up the flight of stairs to her floor, Sakura made her way to the door at the far end of the hall. Reaching into the front pocket of her purse, she pulled out her keys and entered one into the lock. Although tiredly, Sakura still stated a small, “Honey, I’m home.” as she entered her apartment.

Sakura immediately turned to kick off her shoes, completely missing the figure sitting in her kitchen who replied, “Hey! I got some pizza.”

The unexpected voice made Sakura jump. She instantly turned around, bracing herself by leaning against the back of her door, and slowly relaxed as she recognized who the intruder was.

“Ino-pig! What the hell are you doing here? You almost scared me half to death.” Sakura proceeded to hang up her purse and jacket while Ino replied.

“Sorry Forehead, I didn’t mean to scare you that bad!” Sakura offered Ino a glare before joining her at the kitchen table. “I know you’ve been busy with work, but you haven’t come out with everyone for a while,” Ino continued. “I just thought I’d check on you and make sure you got something to eat.”

Sakura sighed, the irritated expression on her face softening to a slight smile. “Thanks, Ino. I do appreciate it.”  


Ino returned her smile before pushing her seat away from the table and standing up. “Here I’ll get some plates for the food.”

Sakura’s eyes followed Ino’s figure as she walked over to one of the cabinets in Sakura’s cramped kitchen. A slight flush bloomed across Sakura’s face as she noticed herself staring at the sliver of Ino’s waist exposed by her reaching up to grab the plates. Sakura internally scolded herself when her gaze drifted down, she shouldn’t be checking out her best friend’s ass.

That thought drifted away as Sakura recalled what had puzzled her so much about Ino’s appearance in her apartment in the first place. As Ino turned around and set the two plates onto the table, Sakura inquired, “Hey. Why didn’t you just text me to say you were coming over?”

“Well I have a key to your place, so I thought I’d surprise you!” Ino replied as she returned to her previous spot at the kitchen table. She pulled over the box of pizza and flipped it open, gesturing to Sakura to grab a slice after grabbing one for herself.

As Sakura silently ate her dinner, Ino began telling a story in great detail about something that had taken place at work that day. “So, this customer came in today and explained that he’d like a refund for a plant he had purchased that suddenly died…” Sakura nodded in acknowledgement.  


As Ino continued with her story, Sakura found her exhaustion had finally caught up with her. Her eyelids grew heavy and Ino’s familiar voice began to lull her to sleep.

“I asked the guy if he had a receipt, and of course he didn’t, but he insisted that he had purchased it at the shop.” Ino’s words grew muffled in Sakura’s ears as sleep crept upon her.

“So, then I asked him when he purchased it, and guess what he said,” Ino paused momentarily. “Eight years ago! Can you believe it?” Engrossed in her story, Ino hadn’t noticed Sakura drifting asleep.

When a reply didn’t come, Ino brought her focus back to her friend and chuckled to herself, seeing Sakura’s head tilted downwards toward the table.

Ino raised her voice slightly, “Hey, Forehead.” A soft snore coming from Sakura was her only reply.

Ino sighed fondly and scooted her chair towards her friend. Reaching over she gently placed a hand on Sakura’s shoulder and lightly shook her. “Sakura,” she softly voiced.  


Awoken by the movement from Ino, Sakura slowly blinked her eyes open. “Hm?” She glanced down at the hand still on her shoulder then shifted her gaze upwards to meet Ino’s eyes. “What happened?”

Sakura’s shoulder grew slightly colder as Ino removed her hand from its previous position. “Well you fell asleep Silly,” Ino responded.

Sakura replied with a short grunt of acknowledgement and muttered, “What time is it?”

Ino pulled out her phone from her back pocket and checked the time before responding, “It’s just about 9:30.” After returning her phone to her pocket Ino turned back to Sakura. “You should really go to bed. I swear you were about to fall headfirst into your dinner plate.”

Sakura nodded in agreement before eyeing the dirty dishes on the table. She groaned at the thought of yet another task to do, putting her head into her hands. “I still have to do the dishes before I go to sleep.”

Ino shook her head and stood up, guiding Sakura up with her. “Don’t even worry about that. I’ll do the dishes before I head out.” Ino turned Sakura around and gently pushed her towards the direction of her bedroom. “Get some rest Forehead, you look like you’re about to pass out again.”

Sakura took the final few steps to her bedroom by herself. As she entered her room Sakura pulled off her worn scrubs and undergarments from the day and tossed them into the direction of her hamper. She’d pick up anything that hadn’t landed inside of it in the morning.

After pulling on some pajamas, Sakura sat down in bed and pulled her blankets on top of her. Leaning over, she turned off her bedside lamp and started to settle into bed. The ambient noise of Ino working in the kitchen started to lull Sakura back to sleep. It also brought a slight smile to her face.

Having Ino in her apartment made Sakura feel something. Happy, less lonely, and a lot less empty.


	2. Chapter 2

As the weeks progressed, Ino became a more and more frequent visitor in Sakura’s apartment. Sakura wasn’t exactly sure what sparked Ino’s sudden interest in spending time at her tiny one-bedroom space, but she wasn’t complaining.

Sakura had soon found that her life felt easier overall. The hospital was hectic as always, resulting in many sleepless nights and restless naps in the on-call room, but coming home was no longer a hassle. In the past, returning home had meant cheap take out and chores begging to be taken care of. Now, it meant being greeted by a blonde brimming with untold gossip and the lingering scent of rosemary dish soap.

Ino wasn’t over every single night, but there was something about her visits that left a lingering presence, providing Sakura’s dreary apartment with much-needed brightness and warmth. The plants she had brought over from her family’s flower shop had certainly helped with that, previously empty corners and shelves now occupied by vibrant green leaves.

The memory of that first night Ino had surprised Sakura still buzzed in her mind. Being cared for like that had felt a little strange, but it was a good strange. And that initial spark of happiness as Sakura had fallen asleep that night had continued to grow more and more each time Ino used her spare key.

With every visit, her loneliness was quickly fading away.

* * *

Sakura smiled as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Ino was out of town for the weekend at some sort of flower conference and had been sending Sakura updates the whole time. Sakura chuckled softly to herself at the memory of receiving a selfie that Ino had taken with a flower arrangement that morning. Sakura couldn’t recall the significance of the arrangement other than it being pretty, but Ino certainly seemed enthused by it. Before checking to see what Ino had sent her this time, Sakura cleared the remaining distance to her apartment.

The door softly clicked behind Sakura as she entered into her apartment. She toed off her shoes and shrugged out of her jacket before walking over to her living area and settling onto the couch. Sakura sighed contently as she sunk into the plush couch cushions. Her apartment may not be the largest or the nicest, but Sakura’s couch was envied by her entire friend group. Sakura’s phone buzzed once more, reminding her to check and see what Ino had said. She shifted slightly and reached to retrieve her phone from where it resided in her back pocket.

She had two messages. One from her mother asking if Sakura wanted to go antiquing her and her father the next weekend, and the other from Ino.

_Sakura, I hope the second half of your shift wasn’t too eventful! Make sure to eat and get some rest. There should be plenty of food in the fridge._

Sakura sent a quick reply to her mother, agreeing to go antiquing, before switching over to her conversation with Ino.

_It wasn’t too bad! Just about as busy as normal. I do have a funny patient story to tell you, but I’ll leave it for when you get back, it’ll be easier to explain in person. And thank you for the meals in the fridge, I really appreciate it._

After pressing send, Sakura scrolled up in their conversation until she landed on Ino’s selfie with the flower arrangement. A soft smile spread across Sakura’s face as she took in Ino’s gleeful expression. Sakura paused for a moment, just looking at the picture, before ultimately saving it and closing her phone.

Sakura rose from the couch, beginning to really feel her increasing hunger, and made her way over to the fridge. The appliance that once contained no more than a wilting head of lettuce, an expired carton of milk, and more condiments than anyone could ever need, was now fully stocked and filled with enough meals in Tupperware to last a week.

Sakura removed one of the containers from the fridge, noting that it contained something with chicken, and proceeded to follow the reheating instructions written on the sticky note Ino had attached to the containers lid.

After quickly finishing her meal, Sakura took her plate and placed it in the sink alongside a slowly growing pile of dirty dishes. She’d tend to them in the morning.

Sakura continued on with her nighttime routine, flicking off lights, brushing her teeth, and washing her face, before retiring to her bedroom. Once changed into a pair of pajamas far more comfortable than the scrubs she had worn that day, Sakura plugged her phone in to charge and settled into bed.

Several minutes passed and Sakura had yet to fall asleep.

Between her long hours at the hospital and her attempts at maintaining an active social life, Sakura typically never had a difficult time sleeping. In fact, most nights she found herself dozing off before she even reached her bedroom.

A few more sleepless minutes passed before it dawned on her… It was quiet.

Her apartment was completely and utterly silent.

There was no sound of dishes clinking in the sink, no sound of soft footsteps accompanied by a slight squeaking of the floor, no muffled sound of the shower running in the bathroom… No Ino.

Sakura’s eyes flew open, sleep forgotten, and hurriedly sat up in bed. Sure, Ino had been spending a good amount of time at her apartment lately, but that shouldn’t have made this large of an impact on her already. Right? With a sigh, Sakura resignedly got out of bed. There was no way she was going to fall asleep now.

Sakura unplugged her phone from its resting place on her bedside table, and exited her bedroom, blindly dragging her hand against the wall until her apartment was illuminated once again. Deciding that a cup of tea would help calm her, she crossed the short distance from her bedroom to the kitchen and proceeded to fill a kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. Sakura took a seat at the kitchen table and with her head leaning heavily against her left hand, she began to think.

She and Ino had practically been attached at the hip their entire lives. There was that time in middle school where they briefly broke off their friendship over Sasuke of all people, but that was old news. Regardless, Ino is her best friend, the person who means the most to her. And best friends spend a lot of time together! So, there was absolutely nothing weird about Ino spending most of her nights at Sakura’s apartment.

Ino’s help had been invaluable these past few months. Sakura no longer worried about returning home to a massive stack of dirty dishes. Her wallet no longer felt the strain of ordering takeout nightly after returning home too exhausted to cook. But Ino provided Sakura with more than just meals and a tidy apartment. The plants resting on her windowsill brought much needed color to her dull kitchen. The once sparse TV cabinet was now the home of several DVD’s Ino had brought over, each one bringing up memories of shared laughter or shed tears. Her couch cushions even smelled faintly of Ino’s perfume: orange blossom, rose, and vanilla. Ino had brought life into her apartment.

Ino’s bright smile and warm laugh had totally and completely infiltrated her life, and now Sakura couldn’t even sleep without her there.

A piercing whistle erupted from the kettle on the stove, breaking Sakura out of her thoughts. She rose from the table and turned off the stove before turning to grab a mug from one of the cabinets. Sakura let out a brief snort as she eyed Ino’s preferred mug, a white background with cutesy writing surrounded by colorful daisies that said, “Delicate Fucking Flower.” She instead selected a less profane mug and set it on the counter, reaching back up into the cabinet to retrieve a tea bag. After placing the bag of chamomile tea in her mug, Sakura poured the hot water over top of it and brought the mug back with her to her spot at the table.

In the time that it took Sakura’s tea to steep, she became no less confused about her situation than she had been at the start. She let out a deep sigh, head falling into her hands, and decided that she needed help.

Sakura’s contacts were soon pulled up on her phone. The person she usually discussed her issues with, Ino, was obviously not a viable option, so she scrolled down to her next best option and pressed call.

The phone rang twice before connecting. Before Sakura could even utter hello, a baritone voice heavy with sleep stated, “It’s almost 2am. Are you aware of that?”

Confusion filled Sakura’s voice as she replied, “Sasuke? I thought I called Naruto. Did I accidentally dial your number instead?”

“No.”

Sakura waited for him to continue, but after being met with silence replied, “Well… Can you put him on the phone?”

Sasuke huffed before responding, “Sakura, like most people at 2am, the idiot’s already asleep.” Annoyance filled his voice as he continued, “So unless there’s an emergency, I won’t be waking him up. What exactly do you need?”

Sakura sighed, “Well it’s not an emergency technically. I’m just really confused about something and need to talk to someone about it. But I can’t talk to Ino, because it’s about Ino. And-”

“If I listen to you now will you promise to never call at 2 in the morning again?”

“Yes. Thank you Sasuke.”

Sakura took a sip of tea while listening to Sasuke’s response, “Okay, well. Get on with it, what’s the problem.”

“Alright. So Ino’s been spending quite a bit of time at my apartment the past few months, and that’s not the problem at all, I love having her here.” Sakura paused momentarily, readjusting her position at the table. “It just seems like my body has gotten so used to the ambient sounds of her cleaning up and moving around the apartment at night, that now I can’t even sleep properly without hearing them in the background.”

“So, she’s there at night a lot?”

“Yeah. She usually comes over after she’s done with work. She has a spare key, so she just let’s herself in.”

“And she cleans your apartment?”

“It’s not like she’s my maid,” Sakura took another sip of tea before continuing, “I think she’s just been worried about how many hours I spend at the hospital. So she’s been helping with dishes and making dinners. Stuff like that.”

“Does she spend the night?”

Her brows furrowed slightly, “What is this, 20 questions?” Sasuke offered no response so she continued with her answer. “Yes, sometimes. If she’s here really late she’ll sleep over on the couch.”

“Sakura.”

“Yes…?”

“You do realize that you’re practically living together. Right?

Sakura’s brain froze, struggling to process what had just been said.

The silence prompted Sasuke to go on. “She has a key to your apartment which she uses regularly, she does your chores, she cooks your meals, she’s been there enough for you to struggle when she’s out of town… I bet she even has personal items there, am I wrong?”

“Well, no. She has a spare toothbrush here, some of her skincare products, and a few extra clothes here in case she spends the night. Plus, she brought over some of her pots and pans because I didn’t have all she needed in the kitchen…”

Sasuke remained silent.

“Oh my god, we’re practically living together.”

“There you go.”

Sakura, feeling restless, stood up from her seat at the table and paced momentarily before relocating to the couch. “So what am I supposed to do now?”

“I can’t tell you exactly what to do, but I’d advise you to talk to her.”

“Okay, and what am I supposed to say? ‘Ino, love of my life, I suffer with the lack of your mere presence, please move in with me.’ I can’t do that. I don’t even know if she likes me.”

Sasuke chuckled lightly, “You know, for a doctor quickly making a name for herself in her field, you’re not very smart.”

Sakura sputtered, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sakura, Ino flirts with you all the time.”

“But that’s just her personality, she does that with everyone.”

“Whenever you’re not around, you’re all she can talk about.”

“We’re best friends though, I think that’s pretty normal. Naruto talks about you constantly.”

“Naruto and I have also been dating for almost 5 years now.”

Sakura frowned slightly, discouraged.

Sasuke continued, “Sakura look. I know I don’t have the best people skills. Don’t comment on that. But anyone able to see can tell that Ino adores you.”

“But h-”

“When we all go out as a group her eyes are always on you. Even if there’s extra room in a booth, she sits directly next to you. She was so concerned about your wellbeing after being stuck at the hospital for almost 24 hours that she essentially broke into your apartment to clean and bring you food. And she still does your chores. Nobody loves cleaning that much; she just really cares about you.”

“Okay,” Sakura sighed again. “Thank you Sasuke.”

“Don’t mention it. And I mean that, don’t tell anyone that I helped you.”

Sakura snickered, “Of course, we wouldn’t want anyone knowing that the cold, aloof Sasuke Uchiha could be nice sometimes.”

“Hn.”

“You know, I think this is the most I’ve ever heard you speak.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

Before Sakura could say goodbye, the line went dead, prompting her to roll her eyes. She pushed herself off of the couch and headed towards her bedroom, turning off the lights once more.

With a far clearer mind, Sakura was finally able to fall asleep.

* * *

Sakura had a rare day off from work on the day Ino would be returning home from the flower conference. She had spent the majority of the past two days obsessing over what she would say to Ino, instead of feeling prepared, Sakura felt more anxious than ever. Unable to sit still, Sakura moved to tidy up the apartment. Thinking as she went along with her chores.

Ino wasn’t some random person Sakura had met at a bar, she’s her best friend in the entire world. If this conversation went wrong, then Sakura could potentially lose her best friend, her rock. That’s the last thing she wants. The time they had spent apart in middle school was miserable for the both of them. She couldn’t go through that again.

Sakura had been in love with her best friend since high school. At least, that’s when she had realized it. In reality, Sakura’s heart had belonged to Ino since the moment a blonde little girl had protected her from bullies in elementary school.

Sakura still regrets the years she spent fawning over Sasuke. They had gone to school together since the beginning, and all of the girls at school seemed to like him. There was something about his combination of good grades, talent, and an air of mystery that had hearts in the eyes of the majority of their class. But when Sasuke had narrowly saved Sakura from falling off of the jungle gym in 5th grade she completely fell for him. They both laugh at this now, it’s funny in hindsight, a lesbian “crushing” on the gayest kid in class.

By the time Sasuke had come out as gay in their sophomore year of high school, Sakura’s crush on him was virtually nonexistent. Looking back on it, the only reason her crush on him had lasted so long was because her growing attraction to girls was something she wanted to keep hidden from both others and herself. Realizing that she liked girls had scared Sakura and being able to fall back on her “crush” provided her with a slightly twisted sense of security.

Sasuke’s coming out had provided Sakura with a sort of wakeup call. No longer having her crush to fall back on, Sakura quickly realized that she wasn’t attracted to men quite as much as she had once thought she was. In fact, she could finally identify why boys hitting on her made her feel uncomfortable and sometimes scared. She wasn’t attracted to men at all.

By this point, Ino and Sakura had already made up, and were back to being best friends. As Sakura grew more comfortable with her sexuality, she also grew increasingly aware of how beautiful Ino was, and how smart she could be. Seeing Ino’s eyes sparkle as she passionately spoke about a project she was working on absolutely captivated Sakura. It didn’t take long for her to have completely fallen for her best friend.

An expected knock broke Sakura out of her musings. She put away the last dish she had been drying and turned to greet her visitor, taking a deep breath before approaching the door and turning the knob.

Sakura was met by a wide grin on Ino’s face, noticing that she was carrying a bouquet as she made her way into the apartment. After removing her shoes Ino turned, offering Sakura a side hug, flowers still occupying her other hand. “Hey Forehead, I missed you.”

Sakura returned the hug, slightly hesitantly, and replied, “I missed you too.”

Not having yet noticed Sakura’s nervous nature, Ino continued into the kitchen area, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll meet you on the couch in just a minute. Let me just put these flowers in water first.”

Sakura seated herself on the couch, taking another deep breath, and tried to calm herself by focusing on the sound of water filling a vase. Ino soon approached the couch and set the vase down onto the coffee table before seating herself next to Sakura. “There, don’t those look nice!”

Sakura murmured in agreement, keeping her eyes focused on the hem of her sweater she was fidgeting with.

Ino snorted in amusement, “Forehead, you haven’t even looked at them yet.”

Sakura remained silent, anxiety filling her even further.

Ino scooted towards Sakura, tilting her head to get a closer look at her friend’s crestfallen expression. “Sakura, what’s the matter?”

Silence filled the room as Sakura took a final deep breath and turned towards Ino. After gathering as much courage as she possibly could, Sakura tilt her head up, met Ino’s eyes, and spoke. “Do you like me?”

Ino tilted her head, voice filling with slight confusion. “Of course I like you silly. You’re my best friend!” She offered Sakura a smile for reassurance.

Sakura sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “That’s not what I meant.” Ino nodded her head once, prompting Sakura to continue. Fear twisted in her stomach as Sakura prepared to ask the question she had been dreading. “Do you like me… romantically?”

Ino’s moment of silence confirmed Sakura’s anxieties. She quickly turned away, eyes returning to her sweater, trying her best not to cry.

“Now wait a minute,” Ino voiced, scooting even closer and setting a comforting hand on Sakura’s back. “Did you think I’d be mad at you?”

Sakura’s body shook under Ino’s palm as she nodded yes. Ino sighed, her voice softening. “Sakura, please look at me.”

Sakura hesitated for a moment, taking a shaky breath, before tilting her head up once more, allowing watery green to meet bright blue. Ino gently grabbed her hands, disregarding Sakura’s nervously sweaty palms. “Sakura, how long have we known each other?”

“Around twenty years,” Sakura mumbled, voice barely above a whisper.

Ino adjusted to a slightly firmer grip on Sakura’s hands and looked directly into her eyes as she spoke. “Would you believe me if I told you that I’ve loved you for almost all of that?”

Sakura’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open slightly. She cleared her throat before managing to stumble out, “You what?”

Ino released her grip on one of Sakura’s hands, reaching up to wipe away a tear that had sneaked out, gently caressing her check on the way down. “You asked me if I liked you, but that doesn’t even come close to covering it. Sakura, I’m in love with you.”

All of the tension flew out of Sakura’s body through a massive exhale as she flung her arms around Ino. Ino returned the gesture, cradling Sakura’s head with one hand, the other rubbing soothing circles on her back. Tears of relief fell down Sakura’s cheeks as she spoke confidently for the first time that afternoon, “I’m in love with you too.”

Their grips on each other loosened slightly as they separated, the small distance allowing them to look at one another. Sakura reached up and brushed Ino’s bangs behind her ear before softly questioning, “Can I kiss you?”

A wide grin spread across the span of Ino’s face as she enthusiastically nodded. Sakura gently placed one hand on Ino’s cheek, returning her grin and slowly leaned into her warmth. Her eyes closed shut as their lips softly brushed together. Ino’s, soft, tasting of strawberry lip balm met Sakura’s slightly chapped, recently bitten with worry. The two separated after a moment, allowing each other a moment to breathe.

Sakura leaned in once more, with slightly more force this time, bringing the hand on Ino’s cheek further down and threading it through her hair. Ino sighed into the kiss and adjusted her grip around Sakura’s waist, pulling her in even closer. Warmth flooded every inch of Sakura, each sensation lighting up her body like a switchboard. The firm grip around her waist, the familiar scent of orange blossom, rose, and vanilla, the taste of strawberry, and Ino’s soft noises. It was a heady feeling, dizzying, and Sakura knew she would want it again and again.

* * *

Later that evening Sakura and Ino could still be found seated on the couch, wrapped in one another’s warmth, simply enjoying each other’s company.

Sakura tilted her head up from its position on Ino’s chest, finally ready to pose the question that had been on her mind since they both had confessed earlier that afternoon. “So… Are we dating now?” Sakura felt the slight movement of Ino’s shoulders as she laughed warmly.

With a caress of Sakura’s arm and a kiss to her cheek, Ino replied, a content smile spread across her face, “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I seem to have gotten over much of my creative block in the past week! Thank you so much for reading, and again my twitter is @iesbiem if anyone wants to discuss this fic or anything else in more depth! :)


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